Home
by Little Alighieri
Summary: Read through the eyes of survivors of the undead apocolypse. Rating may or may not change throughout chapters.
1. Chapter 1

** Author's Note: My first try on this website so please be brutal. The chapters are actually chopped up pieces of my story since I didn't actually intend on posting it here but I've seen great stories and thought that I'd be able to get some feedback. If it's good, I'll try to update often. I'll do my best to keep it going in a straight line but I'm not one to really plan ahead in my stories. Could be the reason I never finish. Okay one thing I plan on doing is a huge reference to on of my favorite stories here As the world dies. You will notice it when it comes. Ah, sorry to ramble on and on but I'm as giddy as a school girl. Oh, and expect a lot of curse words. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! **

-Peter-

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Gabriel huffed up the stairway of a skyscraper unknown to him. The inhuman screeches from below seemed to grow ever closer. They never grew tired, knew no pain, and feared nothing. They would be the perfect soldiers if not for the fact that they were dead and uncontrollable.

They attacked only three months ago and destroyed everything just as a hurricane does. The difference was that these things would never go away unless man physically fought back.

Gabriel was only an average boy, just about to graduate and confess his love to a girl that he had become friends with not long ago, when it all went to hell. He watched friends and family be torn to pieces then devoured. He even had to kill some of those who he held dearest to him.

After trying to get with a group, the things tore apart their hideout of a house. Gabriel and a few others got away but he had gotten close to a few of those who died. He decided not to get with any more groups of people, fearing not for his life but for his emotions getting the best of him.

Armed with a wooden baseball bat and small 9mm pistol with four rounds left, Gabriel did what he could to survive, stopping only to sleep and rest for a moment. The last reports he heard, said to head north. Gabriel went south into Seattle, knowing the dangers. With an entire country heading north into Canada, the horde was sure to follow. He just had to hold out long enough for the monsters to clear out enough for him to rebuild a home.

The monsters were catching up. Gabriel took out a lighter and a small round of firecrackers from his cargo pocket on the side of his pants. He light the long fuse and threw it up onto a higher flight of stairs. He then went through the door next to him and quietly closed it. Gabriel tightened the grip on his bloody baseball bad and listened to the stamped of dead feet rushing toward the sound of the firecrackers. He waited for any more creatures to hear the sound from this vast room of cubicles and charge toward him. So far so good.

"Stupid pieces of shit," Gabriel said to himself. It made him feel a bit crazy but saying small comments like that kept him as sane as possible.

Walking through the office area with an alertness that was almost pure instinct by now, Gabriel headed to the other side following a few signs signaling that there was another emergency exit. Other words, more damned stairs.

There was the sound of something clattering came from an office to Gabriel's far left. Gabriel wasted no time to run as fast and silent as he could to the far side of the room and swing open the door just to look into undead eyes.

"Fuck you!" Gabriel shouted through the black rag that covered his nose and mouth, and slammed his bat down onto the monster's head.

Gabriel ran over the dead body and began to jump down the stairs. He encountered only one more zombie that went down easily and Gabriel continued on his way to the streets below.

Gabriel hesitated at the door at the bottom of the stairs. The sound of footsteps could be heard. Though, there were no moans. There were distinct mumbles. A sigh of relief escaped Gabriel's mouth as he opened the door.

"… Down here," a voice had just finished its sentence.

Five faces turned to face Gabriel. They all wore military clothing but in a strange way. They wore there clothing loose and far different than the way Gabriel thought a soldier should. They stared in disbelief. Who knew that the one who caused the entire ruckus and took out a few zombies alone was a young man?

"Um, hey?" Gabriel waved.

"We found someone sir," the man on a walkie-talkie spoke with a smile and approached Gabriel, "What's your name boy?"

"Gabriel," He replied, staring at the bike chain around his left arm and the machine gun he held, "Who the hell are you?" Gabriel's face turned stern.

The man lifted his gun, "Get on the ground now."

Gabriel looked at the other four who had smirks on their faces. There was something off, besides the loose clothing, bike chains, and malicious looks. The other four men relaxed as Gabriel dropped his bat and lied down on the floor.

The five men surrounded him and Gabriel could hear them cock their guns. A door opened and more footsteps followed.

"Find anyone?" A man said.

"No," another huffed, "Joe's dead. It just came out of no where."

"I'm alone if you were wondering," Gabriel said confidently.

"Bullshit," another voiced sounded annoyed, " Who're you with?"

A man stepped on Gabriel's neck and pushed down with the heavy military boots, "Answer the fucking question."

As though on cue, undead fists began to pound on the door leading to the stairs Gabriel had escaped from. The noise the creatures made forced one of the soldiers to panic and begin firing at the door.

The boot lifted from Gabriel's neck and the rest of the men fired while backing away from the door. Gabriel grabbed the bat beside him and ran passed the men. One man looked his way but turned his attention back to the threat in front of him.

_ Saved by the undead_, Gabriel smiled to himself as he shot through one door into the lobby then outside. The devastation was nothing like you saw in the movies. Sure, there was broken glass and smoke in the distance from fires but there were not overturned cars every two feet and crumbling buildings. In fact, most buildings were very much intact with the exception of the lower floors glass doors scattered around the ground. Gabriel often found a glass window in the high floors of office buildings broken through. Especially if there were many of those things on the floor. At the cement below would be a dead body, its head cracked wide open. Sometimes there would only be a trail of blood.

Gabriel walked in the middle of the street, his mind on high alert. He sure as hell did not want to be caught off guard from one of the many alleyways. He had to admit that he was surprised at how little of the things were here. It was a major city with a high population density yet it was damned near empty. Gabriel just put it off as they had followed the mass migration of living people.

Looking to his right, Gabriel saw one of those trails of blood next to a skyscraper. The trails lead right back into the building. Movement could be seen inside of the building. The creatures were coming towards what was left of the entrance.

Gabriel began to jog only a short distance so he would not get fatigued quicker with the on strap backpack on and pockets of toys, as he called them. He heard a few rapid footsteps and already thanked his old friends for dragging him into free-running. It had saved his life many times since the outbreak and it was about to save him again.

Gabriel turned sharply to his left down an ally. He jumped onto the top of a dumpster, bit down onto the handle of his bat, then jumped onto a ladder to the roof of the building be dwarfed by the others, in one swift movement. Gabriel pulled himself up and peeked over the top of the roof. Last time he was careless and was almost killed by two of the monsters. Thankfully, this rooftop was empty.

Pulling himself up with a great strain, Gabriel fell onto the roof. He cursed the weight of the backpack as he opened it up and dug around. He had plenty energy bars left but only two and a half water bottles. There were also three cans of ravioli that Gabriel had taken from a small store at the beginning of this disaster. A few books and a change of clothes took up the rest of the room.

Gabriel took out the three cans and tested the weight of the bag. It seemed to be all right to jump with it on but just to be safe, Gabriel tossed out a the shirt and pants in the backpack, leaving only a pair of boxer shorts.

Not wanting to let the cans go to waste, He threw them at a glass window across the street and waited. The monsters turned and made their way to the noise. They seemed to be attracted to the slightest notion of food and Gabriel used that to his advantage. His cargo pockets held a few small firecracker bunches. About ten pops each. In his waist pocket was a zippo he snatched from a gas station and a half eaten energy bar he forgot to eat when he was attacked.

Gabriel dug through his pockets until he found the half eaten bar. He attempted to bite down onto the food but it was almost hard as rock. The bar was tossed off the roof.

He stood up and surveyed the area from the rooftop. The desperate wails of the monsters that he had just distracted were thankfully moving into the building. More of the creatures had come out of other buildings as though called by the first small group. More than Gabriel needed to deal with. He turned to the other side and looked down to the alley below. Another building just a bit taller was right across, about six feet away. The jump was far too risky.

Looking down again, Gabriel tried to map out a path to get down with no injuries and as silent as possible. There was a small pile of boxes and garbage bags but the possibility that there was enough glass to screw him over was right up there with the possibility he would never see his friends again. He decided on going the way he came from.

Swinging one leg over, Gabriel slowly placed a foot onto the ladder and moved to the ground as fast as possible. Gabriel looked to his right, where the undead had flooded into the building, then moved on deeper into the alley.

_ I need a fucking strap for my bat,_ Gabriel thought as he walked.

"Stop right the fuck there!" A shaky voice shouted from behind Gabriel.

Gabriel turned and saw one of the supposed soldiers standing there, covered in blood, and aiming his gun right at him.

"Let's not be hasty," Gabriel said nervously, "We can work together."

"Fuck you!" The man shot once but missed horribly, crying out in pain.

Gabriel looked at his arm and saw that much of it had been torn apart by the monsters. He was looking right into bone and muscle. Using the man's pain to his advantage, Gabriel bolted around the corner just as the man began to scream in pain. The creatures must have heard the man yelling and attacked him. At least they would be busy for a few minutes.

Rounding the corner, Gabriel peeked around a wall to check the street. The man's screams had died along with him but Gabriel could still hear the chewing and crunching. The sound still bothered him even after the countless times it abused his ears and filled his nightmares.

Gabriel crouched and made his way across the road to the next alleyway. As he crossed, he noticed that someone had tagged the wall to his left. The words were simple and stated that it was the territory of a group named Nisho. Only a few months into an apocalypse and people were taking territories. Greedy sons of bitches. Sadly this wasn't the first time Gabriel had seen someone stake their territory in a part of town. Many bands of survivors were taking territories.

Shuffling could be heard shuffling deeper into the alley and Gabriel was sure that no one would be stumbling around the alleys. He stepped quietly and stuck to the wall until the creature came into view. It stepped slowly and rarely. The monster stared blankly at air directly in front of itself. These things were dumb as hell and they were able to wipe out the entire world?

_ No time,_ Gabriel thought to himself right before he snuck up behind the monster and swung his bat, colliding with a crack in the back of the undead's neck. The thing's body did not move but its head still lived. The thing growled and bit at Gabriel. It reminded him so much of his uncle. The same uncle Gabriel held at such a high stature. The same uncle Gabriel thought of as a father. The same uncle that saved Gabriel's life by risking his own when he was with that first group of people.

Tears streamed down his face as Gabriel swung his bat down onto the thing's head again and again. Blood and chunks of bone flew all around as Gabriel's cries of pain filled the air.

G abriel huffed and whipped off the blood from his brow. Surely more of those undead fucks heard him so he'd have to get a move on and fast. The screeches of the zombies were already close. Gabriel turned and ran, leaving the corpse of his dead uncle behind.


	2. Frustration and Karma

**Author's Note: I'm still getting a hang of the format here so expect delays. But here it is. Chapter two. Hope you all enjoy!**

-Peter-

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"What's our next move?" Andrew asked Kai.

"Shut up," Kai replied angrily.

"And you're supposed to be the smart one," Andrew mumbled under his breath.

Kai made a move toward Andrew, anger in his eyes but a soft hand grabbed his arm. It was the hand of Christine or Christy. She was one of the first people to make friends with him. Besides the curious or blatantly idiotic people who just asked him some of the most foolish things he had ever heard.

He moved along with his mother and sister but was shy when he first met a few of his friends but quickly broke out of his shell. He was smart and dependable. A feature that quickly revealed itself when everything went to hell. He was able to get his friends and himself safely to a bus yard and after about an hour, he was able to figure out how to drive the vehicle. In the past months, he was able to teach his friends how to operate the complicated monster of a vehicle as well as set up a fortified home in a wal-mart.

People came and people went but Kai insured the safety of his friends and family. The front doors of the store had the only glass, which was easily fortified with empty shelves. Sadly the rest of the store was not as easy. A friend Kai had just made during the end of it all was killed. It was Kai who shot him. He would not speak for a week after the incident but worked diligently along with the others. It was after he fell in love did he speak again.

"We need to stock up on more ammunition, man," Andrew pushed the issue at Kai, "If we run out we'll be defenseless."

"We have a three bows and a few hunting arrows," Kai replied, "We can learn to use those. If we run out of food then we become to weak and we lose our common sense. We turn on each other and may even kill each other. Worse, those zombies might get in."

Andrew was silent. He may have been defiant at times but he knew to take Kai's words to mind. Kai was the only other person that Andrew knew to listen to. The other boy was one of Kai's best friends. The other boy treated Kai as a younger brother and people knew that.

"Alright then how do you plan on getting more food," Andrew asked.

"Not only food," Kai told him, "We need a better way to fortify the front and we need a safe way in and out of the store without putting the others in danger. Before we make a single move, we plan our next ten moves."

Kai leaned back in the indoor McDonalds seat and looked at the table. He asked for a pencil with a good eraser and a pad and paper. Kai scribbled on the papers but only groaned and tore them out. His head was running faster than an Olympic runner. It always had to be. Kai would never allow it to slow down.

"Fuck," Kai thought, "That son of a bitch decides to leave right when we need him."

The sky began to darken over Gabriel's head. He was lucky his eyes dried up and he decided to look up. If he did not then he may have missed the truck yard in front of him. Maybe he would have walked right into the large group of zombies crowded at the front gate.

Gabriel snuck around to the back of the yard and looked up to the tall fence. It was a simple chain link fence with barbed wire at the top. Easy enough.

Tossing his thick sweater over the barbed wire, Gabriel scaled the fence but slowly went over the barbed wire. He slowly lowered himself down, not risking injury and dashed into the building, ducking around the trucks to avoid the undead at the front. If they were riled up, they could easily take down the fence.

The door creaked only slightly when it was pushed open. The office was smaller than Gabriel expected but the various shelves could have accounted for that. The stench seeped through Gabriel's bandana, telling him to be on his guard in here.

The silence is what caught Gabriel off guard. The zombies usually shuffled around slowly and made some sort of guttural sound. There were two doors down the hallway and a doorway only a few feet to his left. The darkness was beginning to bug Gabriel since he could barely see in front of him. He decided on the doorway to his left since he could see the last bit of sunlight peeking through the doorway. He saw no shadow but he still entered cautiously.

It was nearly pitch black before Gabriel heard the first movement of the zombie down the hall. Gabriel had been sitting quietly, contemplating his next move when he the zipper on his backpack stuck. He struggled for a moment but soon his temper took over and he began cursing and eventually slamming the backpack into the wall. The sound caught the zombie's attention and it began to growl and pound at the door.

Gabriel quickly gathered himself and quietly moved toward his backpack. His temper was always getting him into trouble and now was no different. At least now he knew where that horrid smell was coming from.

Hesitantly, Gabriel put his backpack on and tightened it. He had to search for a moment for his bat but the rubber around the handle met his hand eventually. Gabriel stayed low as he tightened his grip.

Gabriel slowly opened the door, unmoving until the zombie came into view. It moved it's disgusting head toward Gabriel and opened it's mouth, emitting a high growl. Before it could take a step toward him, Gabriel had moved forward and thrust his bat forward. The bat slammed into the monsters nose, sending a shard of it's own bone into the monster's head.

Gabriel stayed close to the ground, refusing to let his guard down. He scanned the area, watching for any movement. His frustration with the darkness was evident while his body tensed up and he wanted nothing more than to kill another one of those damned monsters.

No movement yet but he had to be sure if he planned no staying the night in the building. After a few minutes of sitting still, Gabriel stood up straight and stretched his back. It was aching from staying in a crouched position for so long.

Without wasting a second, Gabriel closed the door and pushed the desk against it. He then pushed the metallic filers against the one large window. It would not be impenetrable but it would at least warn him of an intruder. Tonight, Gabriel would be able to sleep better than when he slept in a dumpster or a ransacked home.

Gabriel was able to fall asleep fairly quicker than the other nights but that didn't mean a good nights sleep. His mind was clouded with the thoughts of the zombies right outside.

It was only the early morning but Gabriel was already up and stretching for the days run. He could not continue doing this and he knew it. Running around the city and scrounging for food was not the life he wanted to live, no matter how short his life would be. He had to find a safe place to stay. A place to call home.

Gabriel began searching the room for anything of use to him and found something of great value. A CB radio sat the ground as though god had sent it to him. Never having used a CB radio, Gabriel sat on the ground and fiddle with the device until he figured it out for the most part.

Gabriel turned the volume up just enough to hear it clearly then slowly searched the channels for anything but static. He grew frustrated at the lack of a voice and leaned back on the cold floor. He needed time to think anyway.

There were far to many zombies in the buildings for him to clear out alone so making a home in the city would be far from possible. He needed to find a place with little to none glass windows on the ground and second floor and easily defended. Costco immediately came to mind but the closest Costco from his position was north in Lynwood. It would be a long walk from Seattle to Lynwood, which would be made impossible by the amount of zombies.

Another thought came to mind. The density of zombies in the streets had increased in the past few days. Strange because almost everyone had fled to the Canadian border. Could they be just wandering back south?

If zombies continued to come back into the city and get caught in the winding streets, most of the forts set up by small militias would be quickly overrun and something created by a lone person couldn't stand for long. His only choice would be to go north toward Lynwood and possibly get back to his hometown of Everett.

Going north would mean going against the torrent of undead as they headed back south. That thought alone was what was keeping Gabriel from leaving Seattle. Yet it was a weak argument. In the long run, it would prove to be his demise. Gabriel had to leave if he hoped to continue living.

The two arguments continued back and forth, each equally well. It was beginning to give Gabriel a headache. In frustration, Gabriel kicked the radio away from himself, sat up, and groaned loudly.

Gabriel's luck seemed to change as the quiet static turned into a quiet voice. Gabriel jumped forward and turned the radio up so he could hear the voice.

"Hello?" The voice asked, "Are there any survivors out there?"

"Holy shit," was all Gabriel could say back to the person on the other end.

There was a second of silence before the woman on the other end spoke again.

"Holy shit is right," She chuckled, "You're the first survivor that's responded to a CB in a month."

"Yeah, I haven't really had much access to one lately. I've been running around Seattle, trying to just survive. Goddamn, it's good to hear another friendly voice!"

The woman laughed again, "I thought all the zeds followed everyone up north. Has it already gotten worse there as well?"

As well? Gabriel thought for a second. This person could not be far from him if it had been getting worse for the too.

"How long has it been since those things began returning to your location?" Gabriel asked.

The woman could be heard talking to someone else before answering, "About a month."

If the amount of creatures increased there not too long before it did him that would mean they are north. This could be his chance.

"Where are you?"

"Sorry, hun," the woman replied to the quick question, "I can't be sure if you are another bandit or not."

Gabriel scoffed. The world must truly be turning back in time if bandits were making such a come back. How would he prove that he wasn't some new age bandit?

"How many people are with you?" Gabriel continued the questions.

"Once again, I can't tell you."

"Yeah, sorry," Gabriel was becoming frustrated, "Alright never mind how many people are there ask them if anyone knows a Gabriel from the city of Everett, Washington."

"What about a last name?"

"Let's not get too personal now," Gabriel smiled.

Once again there was a silence telling that the woman was talking to another person. Sadly it was taking a long time. Hopefully they were being thorough with asking each person if they knew him.

"Cookie!" Another voice exclaimed. This times a familiar voice.

"Wiggles?" Gabriel nearly shouted.

It was a close friend of Gabriel's from before the world went to hell. The names were just a joke they got from on of Gabriel's old favorite shows.

"Are you with anyone?" Gabriel's friend asked.

"Nope, all by myself," Gabriel answered, "Where are you, bro?"

"I'm still in Everett in Wal-Mart," His friend replied.

"Hot damn," Gabriel put his forehead into his head and laughed.


	3. Run

**Finally chapter 3. I've been having a few issues with writers block and school but I was able to pound this out. Sorry if you actually waited for this and don't expect chapter 4 to be up within the week unless I pull of some miracle. Well I'm off to watch Land of the Dead for inspiration. Enjoy! **

** -Peter- **

Finally it seemed that Gabriel's luck was changing. At the very place he wished to go, there was at least one person at that place. But how would he get there? He did not want to endanger any other lives just to come and pick him up.

"I'm going to come and pick you up," Kai suddenly spoke.

Gabriel replied, "No, I'll be fine. I'll make my way back some how. I'll contact you every chance I get and tell you where I am."

"Stop trying to be selfless," Kai chuckled, "It ain't like you."

The two friends shared a laugh at the remark. It felt like the first time Gabriel had laughed in years though it had not been such a long time. It took a moment for the laughter to die down before Gabriel spoke again.

"I guess I've changed a bit after this all went down," Gabriel spoke, "If I run into trouble I'll be sure to ask for help but for now just stay put and I'll come to you."

Thoughts of the past rushed through Gabriel's mind. The mischief the two boys caused along with their third, Chris. Right after the incident began, Chris hopped into his car and headed for his girlfriend. It was the last time he saw his friend.

"Hey, you there?" Kai asked.

"Yeah, sorry," Gabriel apologized, "Just thinking."

"Well, stop," Kai told Gabriel, "You need to hurry and get-"

Kai was cut off by yelling and cursing.

"Got a little trouble in paradise," Kai said, "Get moving."

"Wait!" Gabriel shouted, "How are the conditions there?"

The line was silent. Gabriel feared that something had jeopardized the little fortress Kai had obviously made but suddenly another familiar voice came from the radio.

"Hello?" A young woman asked.

Gabriel was in shock. It was another friend as well as love interest.

"Gabe?" Christy said louder.

"I'm not going crazy am I?" Gabriel asked, "How many more people survived?"

"A few of us thanks to Kai," Christy said, "He really is a smart guy. Thanks to him I can even drive a school bus."

Gabriel chuckled, "Alright, that's it. Baby I'm comin' home."

Christy laughed. It was one of those little things about her that Gabriel just could not get enough of.

"Today must be a good day," Christy said, "We get news that you are coming back and we just had new people arrive!"

"Okay, I need to start leaving," Gabriel said anxiously, "I think I've attracted enough attention around these parts. I'll be sure to talk longer the next time I get my hands on one of these radio things."

"Alright but as soon as you get back you owe me," Christy said.

"And what is it I owe you?" Gabriel asked playfully.

"A fucking hug."

"That's it? A hug?"

"I think a hug is good enough after all this."

Gabriel could not disagree. After running for his life in the past three months from man eating, reanimate corpse in a ghost city as well as crazed soldiers and ornery gang members, any sort of friendly human contact was welcomed.

Now wasn't the time to think anymore. There was loud pounding coming from the front door as well as those disgusting sounds the zombies made. Gabriel cursed and grabbed his bat.

"I got to go," Gabriel spoke quietly, "Got a few guests."

"Be careful," Christy's voice was lowering, "You can't get out of debt that way."

"Don't worry. I'm not going to die when I actually want to pay up. I'll see you later. I love you."

With that Gabriel put down the radio and pushed the filer away from the window slightly. The monsters had made a way around the front gate after Gabriel had gained their attention with his talking and laughing. He had royally fucked up. Luckily it looked like there were none of the creatures around this side of the building. A crash resounded as the front door of the building gave away and the zombies made their way throughout the building. A few of the monsters quickly started to pound on the door to the room Gabriel was in.

"Rotting pieces of shit," Gabriel spoke in a low voice.

Gabriel pushed the cabinet away from the window and made sure it was clear. He then went back to the radio and spoke one last time.

"Hey!" Gabriel said.

"Is this the same kid?" a woman's voice asked.

"Yeah, I need a favor," Gabriel said.

"What is it?"

"Count to fifteen then start making a lot of noise over the radio."

There was that discussing pause once again. It was really irritating at a time like this.

"Alright, I guess we can do it," the woman said, "but for how long?"

"Two minutes," Gabriel said quickly, "Count now."

Gabriel dropped the radio and pushed the desk out of the way of the front door as fast as possible. He grabbed his bat and backpack, tossing them out of the window in front of him then climbed out and shut the window behind him. He scanned the area and saw it was clear. Suddenly, the door burst open, the zombies flooded in and the radio began to play loud music. The monsters were fooled by the simple plan and crowded around the radio.

Using this as a chance, Gabriel made his escape. As he made his way to the fence, he turned and saw that the zombies were still trying to squeeze into the small building to get to the noise. Gabriel pitied them. They were but shells of their former selves. Mindless animals run on instinct.

_Run!_ A voice shouted within Gabriel's mind. It was his common screaming the obvious.

After the two minutes of random noises and screams were up, Christy sighed and laughed. She felt ridiculous screaming and pounding on a table over the radio but knew that she had possibly just saved a good persons life. Her thoughts switched over to the last phrase "I love you". Around his friends, Gabriel was known for being old fashion when it came to relationships and never said those three words unless to a family member or someone he cared that much about.

Christy tried to put away the thought to welcome the new guests. They had driven a truck around the Wal-Mart attracting much unwanted attention. They had to drive around the back while the current residents caught the attention of the undead at the front of the store. The new people entered the building through the docking bay with little confrontation. Most of the creatures were in the front, reaching vainly for the ones high above them.

There were three of them. All two of them were older men and one younger. They looked exhausted and the boy collapsed to the ground as they entered the main store, a smile on his face. The two older men held rifles and the teenager had a pistol on his side.

"Name's Thomas," the eldest one said shaking the hand of a young woman named Lauren then proceeded to introduce the other two, "This is my brother Bill, and the one kissin' the ground is my son, Andrew."

"Welcome to our," Lauren hesitated when she noticed Thomas taking glances at her chest, "home. You are welcome here as long as you don't cause any trouble."

Lauren quickly turned and walked to the built in McDonalds and sat next to the CB radio. She did not want to make it obvious but she was already disgusted with the elderly man.

Christy stood next to Kai who was standing on the inside of the small crowd that had gathered around the three.

"Hey," Christy said.

"Hey," Kai replied then smiled when he looked at Christy, "What's with the red cheeks?"

"Shut up," Christy said then turned to the three new people, "Who're these people?"

"Thomas, Bill, and Andrew," Kai answered, pointing to each one as he spoke their name.

"So, who's the boss of this place?" Thomas asked in his booming voice.

Denying his past attitudes, Kai stepped forward with confidence. Christy was right behind him.

"There isn't really one person who governs this place," Kai spoke up, "It's more of a democracy."

Thomas laughed, "You speak well english little boy. Where are you from? Vietnam? Let me talk to an adult."

"I'm from Thailand you ignorant ass," Kai snapped back.

Even Christy was taken back by this small boys defiance. Around strangers, Kai was usually nice and patient. It was actually funny enough to make Christy laugh a little.

Thomas grew angry. This little foreign boy was raising his voice to him? A native to this great country? Thomas would have to teach this boy something about America and respect. His gaze then drifted to the young woman next to him. She was a petite girl with jet-black hair. The ridge of her nose was only slightly protruding. Her eyes seemed to pierce straight through him as she stared directly into his eyes.

Thomas chuckled to cut the tension then asked someone to give him the nickel tour of the place.

As he walked off Christy turned back to Kai.

"I already don't like him," She said.

"We'll give him a chance," Kai smiled, "No one deserves the fate waiting outside the walls."


End file.
